SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While Swaggy P bathes in the attention of the uncertainty, Nick Young has made up his mind to opt out of his contract with the Lakers and become a free agent this summer, he strongly indicated to NBA.com.

Holding off on a definitive statement, Young made it clear Wednesday after the Lakers lost to the Kings at Sleep Train Arena that he is going to void the 2014-15 contract at $1.2 million, aiming for a much larger salary after boosting his stock this season with 17.3 points a game.

Asked if he has made up his mind, Young said, “A little bit. It’s a mystery, though. I’ve got to keep y’all on your toes. That’s what Swaggy P does.”

Not much of a mystery, though. He doesn’t see himself as a $1.2-million player.

“Oh, no,” Young said. “Not at all. Most definitely. I deserve much more than that.”

And Swaggy P wants to have a lot of teams chasing him.

“Yeah,” Young/P said. “He most definitely does. And I believe a lot will. That’s a solid answer right there.”

That’s hardly a surprising outcome after Young went from an absence of attractive offers in summer 2013 to a season of taking advantage of what has been a 2013-14 of misery all around him. Barely any Kobe Bryant, barely any Steve Nash, a lot nights without Pau Gasol, a rare trip to the lottery for the franchise. And Young could finish as the leading scorer on the Lakers. He could even finish with a career high, ahead of the 17.4 in 2010-11 with the Wizards.

He will draw far more attention this summer than he did last season. He will love that. But the ideal outcome, the USC product said, is to remain in his hometown with a new contract with the Lakers.

“Most definitely I want to stay home,” Young said. “With the changes I see, they’re going to do some big things this summer. Of course I want to be a part of a championship program and get a chance to compete next year. But we’re just going to see what happens. I’ve got to sit down with my agent and see what happens this summer.”

The guys does indeed desserve more than 1.2 mill. there are guys glued to the bench that makes 6 mill a year. He will be a contibutor off the bench for any team in this league. Period. So everyone can stop whining. If a lot of you were in his shoes and see where your value is, you wouldnt want to settle, when youre garunteed to make more anywhere else.

I find it funny how fast people forget and jumped on the lakers when they were down especially the sorry fans that went so far to root for clippers sorry to tell yu but yu ain’t winning no championship nick young needs to relize he was a pity sign for the lakers test the free agency a ball hog who can’t defend lets see ur truth worth I doubt the lakers will win another one soon but The Mamba deserves so much more respect than he’s givin we will never see another player like him the Heart in that mans chest was only exceed by the Goat Mj himself #Respect

All that matters is that the Lakers rid themselves of a disease masking itself as Pau Gasol. We need athletes who can run the floor, jump, and hit the offensive boards (Gasol can’t do any of these things). He’ was the worst center in the league this year defending the rim: enough said.

I’d admit, Young has been a scorer on this depleted Lakers squad and I will never knock anybody’s desire to make more money than their last contract. However, I think we should all pay attention to the way Nick plays while competing with the more elite teams in the league before crowning him as “The Man” since Kobe has been out. He’s a good player, but when up against teams like the Spurs, OKC, Heat, etc. he’s not putting up the level of work that can win championships. I definitely want him back, but he really needs to settle down, learn to play defense and become a little less celebratory after every single shot. Especially after being unable to bring the team back from 20-30 point deficits. I’m just saying?!

give Young around 3/4 million/ year for 3 years. He deserves just that. He can score but not defend. Lakers should keep Meeks and Bazemore. They both are high intensity players who can score and defened well. Let Brooks, Marshall, Sacre and Nash go. They should keep Wesley johnson . This kid has potential as a great defender and needs to improve his shooting. He doesnt have that many touches also.

keep meeks thats a must but i aslo think they need to bring back bazemore and henry. henry has more potential than what he has shown so far. remember alot of these guys were injured all year lakers has a bad deal dealt to them. young should take the 1.2 and stop asking for more you guys are all right. hes not Kobe and he couldnt score on lebron dwade melo kevin durant like he scores on teams who arent even guarding him. hes wide open for 3s i dont see no game winners like Kobe makes. or kobe take overs. nick young sit down your a rookie still. meeks is the only guy who could say i did this or that…

Well he’s actually the only good thing that happen in this catastrophic Lakers season. If he’s gone I don’t see who will step up to take his minutes & besides Kobe must read cuz I can see him play 48 minutes anymore impossible !!!!
By the way Young must improve his defense too u can demand money if can play D !!!

Young, I think is making the Right decision right now, but to keep the same coach is a WRONG decision for the Lakers, I have been a FAN of the lakers for a long time and to watch them play for the last two years has been a let down for NOT only me but for alot of fans, change the COACH..

Young is right he deserves more than 1.2 mil next season, reckon he will sign a 3 year deal for 3/4 mil per season somewhere.
lets face it there is a log jam at shooting guard for the Lakers.

Kobe
Meeks
Young
Henry
Bazemore
Brooks

I know some of these guys can obviously play the small fwd position in the second unit but at least 3 of these guys need to go. Broos will be one of them for sure.
I think the Lakers will let Young and Henry go and sign with other teams for $ without making them much of an offer themselves.
Meeks and Bazemore r worth giving contracts to (providing other teams don’t want to over pay for them)

Bring Young back for 3 Mil, 2 years deal. Thats fair for everyone. The lakers need to pay big for starters. for the bench they should bring Marshal, Farmar, Henry, Meeks, Young, bazemore, kelly and Hill.

He’s certainly not the best available player, but with the right coach that can point him to the right direction he can reach his potential. Sure his character is still a big question but his raw talent alone is intriguing enough for teams to take risk. And with a reasonably priced contract he’s somewhat a keeper.

So what you’re basically saying is that Nick Young doesn’t belong in the NBA because he has fun in life? A lot of people in the NBA have their signature celebration (MJ with his fist, Kobe with his jaw, Lebron with his leg thing)

There are some good players who should be avoided by teams with serious intentions.

Howard was one of them. Getting him was a mistake. Trying to keep him was a mistake. Thank God he left on his own accord.

Wooing Melo would be a mistake.

Bending backwards to get Young would be a mistake. If he stays at a small salary (maybe a bit higher than 1.2), comes off the bench 10-15 minutes, scores 10-15 points, fine. Otherwise let him go.

I am so glad to see that most readers see it that way, hope the Lakers management sees it that way too.

Scoring with a license to shoot (in a D’Antoni system) with your opponents not even taking you as a team, is one thing. Slugging it out against true adversity is quite another. Some players just don’t have that character, that mind set. Having fun, and showing off is one thing, winning is a different ball game altogether.

I would think of negotiating to keep Marshall and Bazemore, maybe even Henry, much before Young.

Are you serious? Lakers are getting a healthy Kobe Bryant back next season, and I guarantee he can’t play 48 mins for every game next season. They need that scorer to come off the bench to give Kobe a longer rest, he is getting old.

I agree. He is a below average player. The fact that he acts like he is the MAN holding up his 3 point signs after he makes a shot and the team is down 20-30 points is a joke. Seriously, how can you celebrate shots when your squad is getting blown out? I would bench ANY player who did that unless he had already brought the team back to within like a 2 point deficit. That guy is a clown. What kindof name is swaggy p anyway? worst nick name EVER.

Young is a great scorer but with the way Bazemore has been playing I would think Bazemore would be a better fit for the Lakers as he has shown he can score the ball and has certainly surprised everyone with his shooting. But he also gives the Lakers a young defensive wing player which is something Young is not. If they resign Meeks he can definitely fill that scoring void off the bench that Young was and I personally think Meeks played a much better season than Young and if someone deserves that extra cash it’s Meeks.

He obviously has demonstrated his ability to be a scoring threat off of the bench and as such certainly should get more than $1.2mm next year and longer than a one year contract. So opting out appears to be a no-brainer.